The Toronto Raptors drop their final home game of the season to the Indiana Pacers 140-123.
Tyrese Haliburton led the way for the Pacers with 30 points, meanwhile Pascal Siakam added 16 points in 26 minutes in his second game back in Toronto.
The Pacers pulled away early in the second half on route to snapping Toronto’s two-game winning streak.
Immanuel Quickley got the night off for the Raptors, so Toronto needed others to step up. Javon Freeman-Liberty played his best game as a Raptor as he scored a career-high 20 points. Kelly Olynyk scored 22 points and RJ Barrett added 23.
Raptors rookie Grady Dick was ruled out before the game due to a sore groin.
The Raptors injury list included Quickley (rest), Scottie Barnes (left hand), Jakob Poeltl (left pinkie), forward Chris Boucher (right knee) and guard DJ Carton (right ankle).
The Pacers overcame a 12-point deficit and led 65-64 at halftime. Indiana opened the third quarter with a 21-9 run for a 106-91 advantage. They did not look back.
With the loss the Raptors will finish the season with a 14-27 record at home. Their .341 home winning percentage and -6.1 point differential both rank 2nd-worst in franchise history according to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg.
Darko Rajakovic reflected on the Raptors tough season via Sports Illustrated’s Aaron Rose:
“It’s been a difficult season. I know one thing, that everybody in this organization is working really really hard to turn this around. They’re all excited by the summer opportunities that we have ahead of us.”
The Raptors have seen a major roster turnover this season as the franchise finally decided to embrace a direction.
Then Toronto had to deal with many injuries that derailed their momentum coming out of the All-Star break.
With 3 games left on the season, Toronto is hoping to finish things out strong while remaining optimistic about the future.
Next on tap
The Raptors will be in Brooklyn on the second night of a back-to-back to take on the Nets on April 10.
This will be the final meeting between the two teams.
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